


nothing is fair in love or war (except maybe him).

by nonsensewritingandlackoftime



Series: The Prutettori One Shots & Angst [1]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Anyways read it coward, Bisexual Male Character, But also, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Face-holding, First work - Freeform, Found Family, Gay, Gay Male Character, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/No Comfort, Idk take it how you want, Jealousy, M/M, Mild Blood, Original work - Freeform, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Swords, Threats, Touch-Starved, boys with swords, oblivious boys, so much pining, that should be a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28700331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonsensewritingandlackoftime/pseuds/nonsensewritingandlackoftime
Summary: Nakoa has hated Erick ever since he had stepped foot on their land. He hasn't failed to make that known either. But somehow, in the midst of it all, the boy's have begun to catch feelings for one another. Some mistaken jealousy leads to undisclosed secrets being brought to the surfaces and truths shared that hurt to say out loud. Nakoa has a knack for saying whatever he's thinking and Erick has a past that no-one can seem to forget. Can these two broken boys fix each other or will they be the cause of more damage?Broken boys fumble through relationship do's and don'ts. To add to the don'ts list: don't hold the boy you like up at sword point after accusing him of killing your father. It probably won't go well... probably.
Relationships: Erick Radclyffe-Hall/Nakoa Lorde, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: The Prutettori One Shots & Angst [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103774
Kudos: 3





	nothing is fair in love or war (except maybe him).

**Author's Note:**

> This is not edited, I'm sorry, I was excited to share something :)  
> Mild tw: small talk of blood, a curse word or two, brief talk of past-murder and grief, oblivious boys pining (be warned) (they're in love but don't know it). I think that's it!

“Oh my Goddesses, are you jealous of him?”

What a ridiculous accusation. Blood rushed to his cheeks quicker than his next words spewed out. Air rushed into his lungs to fill his angered words. He wasn’t embarrassed. He was angry. Don’t be ridiculous. 

“What? No, of course not,” his eyebrows sank lower until his eyelashes practically met the twin lines. Nakoa almost thought he saw Erick flinch at his quick rebuttal, but perhaps that was just his mind trying to find something that wasn’t there. Erick had no reason to be hurt by the truth. It made him stop for a moment to observe his reaction, not for long, but long enough to be noticeable. Nakoa continued on, he didn’t care how he reacted. “Ha! Tell me you’re joking. I have no reason to be jealous, we’re not dating. I don’t even like you.”

Nakoa laughed as if him saying that had been the funniest thing he’d ever heard. Why would he ever be jealous because of something to do with him?

Erick sucked in a breath, his lip quickly pulled between his teeth as if it had become far more interesting than the conversation in front of him. He would cut his lips open if he continued to gnaw on it like that. Erick seemed to be leaning on the pillar for more support than he had a second ago. He looked up to meet Nakoa’s steely gaze and nodded once.

“Okay.”

Nakoa shook his head in distaste, a scowl setting his features into angular, harsh points. Erick’s teasing lilt to his tone had long since vanished. Good. This wasn’t the humorous event he had tried to make it. Not everyone saw flirting like that as a fun little game to play. He was going to hurt someone. He wouldn’t let this child hurt someone else. 

“You’re just a fucking jackass, why would you even flirt with him and then just reject him like that?”

“I told him the truth, surely you can’t blame me for that. He was hot. Just not relationship material. Everyone wants to say they’ve had a piece of me but I have my own boundaries.”

“Don’t you have that whole touch thing?”

He raised one eyebrow and raised one corner of his lip.

“That ‘whole touch thing’ stems from a bucketload of trauma. I can barely wash myself, let alone have someone touch me like that. I didn’t tell him I was going to have sex with him just that he was hot. Doesn’t mean I can’t think about it though.”

“I don’t see why anyone would want to do that with you.”

“You can say sex, it’s not a dirty word.”

His scowl returned again with a fiery passion.

“Don’t fucking mock me. Nobody would want anything to do with you if they knew what your filthy hands have done. You will always just be worthless scum because of it.”

A fraction of time lay suspended in the air between them. One ragged breath followed another. Nakoa was angry. Erick was exhausted. 

They clenched their hands respectively. Erick looked hurt. Nakoa was glad. He hurt people, he deserved to be reminded of it. 

“You don’t have to like me. I know what I did was wrong. I don’t like me either but I don’t want to be your enemy.”

He almost recoiled at the tender tone of Erick’s voice as if the infliction was the same intensity as someone screaming at him.

“It doesn’t quite work like that, sunshine,” he sneered.

Erick sighed, meeting his eyes again, “I’m tired, Nakoa. If you want a fight, please find someone else.”

For a moment, Nakoa dropped his scowl and replaced it with a frown. Softer than before. An apology rested on the tip of his tongue but he fought it back, he wasn’t in the wrong. Nakoa turned to leave to stop himself doing something dumb like caring about him. His body remained stiff. Usually, when he got angry, his bones ached as if they were dying to tear through his skin and fight the world, but this, this was different. It wasn’t his bones but instead his muscles. Every single one seized up in pain, most painfully of all, his heart. Erick’s admission made his heart hurt. Maybe it was the way his please rolled off his tongue like a warm hug. Maybe it was the way his eyes dulled so dramatically as if the life was just seeping out of him the more he was forced to stand. Either way, all he knew was that his brain, his stupid brain, kept begging for the hint of mirth to light up in his eyes again. Even if it meant Erick teasing him.

He could not deal with that thought right now and quite frankly, he didn’t have to.

“I never hurt you, Ko. I didn’t mean to. You don’t understand- I couldn’t control it.”

Nakoa pivoted from his position a few feet away and turned back to Erick. All hints of compassion he felt dispersed rapidly. Erick hadn’t moved from his spot. 

“You killed my father.” Erick dropped his head as if he had been slapped. “He went to fight for your people, he went to protect you. Do you know what he said to me?” He waited for Erick to shake his head. ““Don’t worry Ko, this is the right thing to do, just keep your sister safe while I go to help. He’s just a scared little boy like you are sometimes. It’s okay, I’ll be back. He just needs someone on his side.” But the second he crossed those borders and tried to speak to you, he was murdered in cold blood. One of your daggers was found buried in his neck. You always were a proud kid weren’t you. Written in swirling font and perfect precision lay the words: property of Erick Radclyffe-Hall, ruthless warrior, soon to be king.” Erick looked up at him and if Nakoa wasn’t so blinded by his anger and hurt, maybe he would’ve seen the glimmer of tears in his eyes. “So don’t tell me that you couldn’t control, take the blame for what you did. You stole my family away from me. I hate you. I always will.”

Nakoa grabbed his sword from its scabbard and took enough step forwards that Erick’s breath brushed his skin. His cold empty hand reaching up to lift up his chin, he stopped himself in time. He may be cruel but he was not a monster like that.

“Lift your head. I want to see your face as I fix the hurt you’ve caused.”

Slowly, the king raised his head. He didn’t look much like a king at that moment. 

Nakoa raised his hand until his sword rested along Erick’s neck where the collar did not cover. Just a sliver of flesh, enough to kill. Erick did not flinch. Nakoa didn’t even think he was really here with him. 

Not until his sword kissed his unblemished skin. 

Nakoa hesitated.

“Erick, stop me,” he pleaded. His words were desperate and strung tight. Nakoa’s hand shook beside Erick’s face. He wanted to touch him. Needed to touch him if he wanted to stop. The sword dug into that perfectly dark brown skin of his. A bead of blood formed at the edge of his sword.

“Erick, please, come on. Do something. Stop me.”

Instead, Erick met his eyes with a fierce resolution, the sword drifted along his skin as he did so. One thin gash marked directly across his throat. A trail of blood left in its wake. Blood began to slide across his skin. Drop by drop. 

“No.”

Nakoa loosened his grip on his sword minutely. A coward's move. Erick could disarm him easily if he pleased.

He didn’t even blink.

“Why?”

“I hurt you. You deserve to hurt me in return,” he said.

“What if I kill you?” He replied.

“You won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

Erick smiled sadly at him, his sword digging in more as he did so.

He raised one gloved hand to gently clasp Nakoa’s empty one. He reached the hand up to rest on his cheek. Erick let Nakoa cup his face in his palm. Erick let Nakoa touch him. The skin beneath Nakoa’s palm was softer than he’d ever imagined. All of the world’s regalities could not afford a material so beautifully soft. Erick’s gloved hand held Nakoa’s to his face. He could not take it back even if he wanted to. He didn’t.

“You’re not like me.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first story I'm going to publish which is cool! It obviously requires a lot of editing but I thought this would be a fun scene to introduce people to them. These guys (Erick and Nakoa) are a central pair to my original book 'The Prutettori' so if you're interested in these guys, lookout for it. I promise everyone gets a happy ending after some good old fashioned angst. So let me know what you think, thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your day guys, gals and non-binary pals.


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